Self-reported camouflaging behaviours used by autistic adults during everyday social interactions

@article{Cook2021SelfreportedCB,
  title={Self-reported camouflaging behaviours used by autistic adults during everyday social interactions},
  author={Julia Cook and Laura Crane and Laura Hull and Laura Bourne and William Mandy},
  journal={Autism},
  year={2021},
  volume={26},
  pages={406 - 421},
  url={https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:235661866}
}
The detailed and specific information provided by autistic adults about camouflaging behaviours generated important new insights into the ways in which autistic people adapt to, cope within and influence the neurotypical (non-autistic) social world.
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110 References

Camouflaging in an everyday social context: An interpersonal recall study

This study shows how autistic people often change their behaviour because of the way they are treated by nonautistic people and that autistic people may benefit from programmes that help them to socialise in more authentically autistic ways, but only if their autistic social behaviour is met with understanding and acceptance from non-autisticPeople.

Is social camouflaging associated with anxiety and depression in autistic adults?

Camouflaging was associated with greater symptoms of generalised anxiety, depression, and social anxiety, although only to a small extent beyond the contribution of autistic traits and age, and no interaction between camouflaging and gender was found.

Gender differences in self-reported camouflaging in autistic and non-autistic adults

Previous observations of greater camouflaging in autistic females than males are supported and for the first time no self-reported gender difference in non-autistic adults are demonstrated.

Looking good but feeling bad: “Camouflaging” behaviors and mental health in women with autistic traits

Camouflaging may help predict when clinicians should be concerned about higher mental health distress in autistic women and may be beneficial to measure as part of a comprehensive, multimethod assessment of mental health in women who report difficulties fitting into social situations.

Understanding the Reasons, Contexts and Costs of Camouflaging for Autistic Adults

Findings indicated a gender difference in reasons for camouflaging, with autistic women more likely to endorse “conventional” reasons (e.g. getting by in formal settings such as work), which have implications for understanding camouflaging in autistic adults.

Camouflaging in Autism: Examining Sex‐Based and Compensatory Models in Social Cognition and Communication

A more nuanced consideration of camouflaging alongside compensation models reveals subtle differences in cognition, behavior, and affect that may reflect underlying profiles of challenge and strength in youth with ASD.

Development and Validation of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q)

Good model fit was demonstrated through confirmatory factor analysis, with measurement invariance analyses demonstrating equivalent factor structures across gender and diagnostic group, and robust psychometric support for the CAT-Q is provided.

Understanding the Relationships Between Autistic Identity, Disclosure, and Camouflaging

The findings indicate the importance of safe nondiscriminatory environments where individuals can disclose and express their autistic identity, which may in turn reduce camouflaging.

Understanding Camouflaging as a Response to Autism-Related Stigma: A Social Identity Theory Approach

Findings demonstrate how stigma contributes to camouflaging and highlight the complexities of navigating autistic identity while still camouflaging.

“Putting on My Best Normal”: Social Camouflaging in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions

Examination of camouflaging experiences in 92 adults with ASC found that motivations for camouflaging included fitting in and increasing connections with others, and short- and long-term consequences of camouflage included exhaustion, challenging stereotypes, and threats to self-perception.
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